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Before he was a quarterback whisperer and one of the hottest head-coaching candidates in the country, Ken Whisenhunt was a quarterback.

Whisenhunt, the San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator who interviewed with the Detroit Lions on Thursday, played nine NFL seasons at tight end and was an all-conference selection at the position in college, but his old coach at Georgia Tech still remembers the upset he authored as a walk-on quarterback 34 years ago.

The Yellow Jackets were 1-7 at the time, playing No. 1-ranked Notre Dame as part of a murderous schedule, when Whisenhunt was pressed into action under center.

“We got our best quarterback hurt, the second guy was just looking for a way to get out of that game and he found a way quickly, which left us with nobody that had ever taken a snap in a college football game,” recalled former Georgia Tech coach Bill Curry, a rookie head coach at the time. “And here stood this freshman next to me, so we’re two freshmen looking at each other, we just had the ball punted to us at our 4-yard line. The No. 1 defense in America has run on the field and that’s who we’re going against.

“And I said, ‘Ken, let me tell you something, buddy. I want you to get this snap. Do you understand me? Get this snap.’ He said, ‘I’ll get this snap coach and we’ll get this done.’ And he ran on the field like he’d been doing it all his life and I got goosebumps — I still get goosebumps just remembering it. This 18-year-old kid looked me right in the eye, I mean not a shred of doubt in his eyes and low and behold he led us up and down the field.”

Georgia Tech managed just one field goal that day, but that was enough to tie Notre Dame, 3-3, and ruin the Fighting Irish’s perfect season.

Curry called it “the biggest upset of the year in college football,” and said “much of it was because of Ken Whisenhunt’s stability.”

The Yellow Jackets didn’t win a game the rest of the year and, while Whisenhunt changed positions the next season, his capacity as a leader was clear and remains a big reason he’s in such demand today.

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After meeting with the Lions on Thursday, Whisenhunt interviewed with the Tennessee Titans on Friday and is scheduled to sit down with the Cleveland Browns today. He’s considered the front-runner to replace Jim Schwartz in Detroit whenever his season in San Diego ends.

The Chargers play the Denver Broncos in AFC playoff action Sunday, and NFL rules prohibit coaches from accepting new jobs until their season is over.

Though Whisenhunt’s quarterback career fizzled after that November day in 1980, his work with the position remains one of his biggest selling points as coach.

He won a Super Bowl as offensive coordinator calling plays for a young Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, helped revive Kurt Warner’s career in Arizona when the Cardinals won their only NFC championship, and is a big reason Philip Rivers had a bounce-back season for the Chargers this fall.

“He’s tough as nails, he’s brilliant and he also has that magic thing that he can connect with a quarterback and make a difference in his performance,” Curry said. “He did it with the guy in Arizona, who was already a good player. He did it again this year, with a guy who was already a good player. But both of them had come on hard times and suddenly they were back at the top of their game. I don’t think that just happens, I think he had a lot to do with it.”

Curry, who lives in Georgia and used to work as a college football analyst for ESPN, said he thinks Whisenhunt could have the same impact on Matthew Stafford and the Lions.

Stafford, who played at Georgia, has seen dips in his passing yards and completion percentage and a rise in interceptions the last two years, and the Lions have made harnessing his talent one of their priorities in this coaching search.